DANIEL GERSON, who co-wrote several Walt Disney animated films including Monsters, Inc. and Big Hero 6, died on February 6 aged 49, after battling brain cancer. Gerson was a frequent contributor for Pixar Animation, co-writing both 2001's Monsters, Inc. and its 2013 sequel, Monsters University.

Along with Robert L Baird and Jordan Roberts, Gerson co-wrote Disney's Oscar-winning Big Hero 6, an animated superhero tale. The New York-born Gerson got his start as a writer for the NBC comedy Something So Right.